Garfiel is a skilled automail engineer and the proprietor of Atelier Garfiel in the town of Rush Valley. When Winry Rockbell is referred to him by Dominic, Garfiel is only too happy to accept the cute young girl as his live-in apprentice and joins the rest of the Rush Valley community in treating her like a beloved family member. Garfiel is rather effeminate and appears to prefer the company of men, which results in his acting largely as a source of comic relief in scenes that involve him.

His dub voice actor has also portrayed homosexual characters in just about every single one of his roles.

In the anime adaptation of the final chapter, Garfiel, along with Paninya, are shown in the Elric family photo. This could indicate that the Elrics either moved to Rush Valley (which would make sense considering Winry's career), or the picture was taken during a visit there. Either way, it shows that the Elrics remained close to both of them.

While Garfiel is absent from the 2003 anime, Dominic takes over his role as Winry's mentor in the series epilogue.